A “hay spear” is a tractor mounted device for impaling and lifting hay bales and is typically comprised of a long, round, pencil-pointed shaft used to pierce the hay bale. The spear is typically constructed of carbon steel, stainless steel or aluminum, but may also be made of any material having suitable strength and durability for its intended use. As illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,405 issued to Jones et al. in 1978, a hay spear may be mounted to any ordinary hydraulically operated front end loader, or to any common three-point tractor hitch. Depending on the geographical location, a hay spear may also be referred to as a hay spike, tine, stabber or prong.
It is common practice to use a front end loader-mounted hay spear as a point of attachment for ropes, chains, cables, come-alongs and the like (hereinafter “attachments”) which are then used for the lifting of objects (hereinafter “work piece”). One end of an attachment is secured to or around the work piece to be lifted and the other end of the attachment is tied or wrapped around the hay spear which is positioned horizontal or near horizontal to the ground. Thusly mounted, the work piece can be lifted from the ground or other resting surface by raising the loader and moved to another location if desired. A similar process is often employed for pulling fence posts from the ground.
A significant shortcoming of the above practices is that the hay spear has no practical mounting surface for the attachment. Accordingly, the attachment must be wrapped around the narrow cylindrical surface of the spear several times as tightly as possible. Because the surface is smooth in texture, attachments are highly prone to both radial and axial slippage, often becoming dislodged from the spear causing damage to the work piece and creating an extremely dangerous condition for the tractor operator and others in close proximity. Another frequently encountered problem with the above practices is that the attachment can slide axially in the direction of the tractor bringing the work piece in contact with the front of the tractor, potentially causing damage to both. Because a suspended work piece has freedom of movement, it is desirable to mount the attachment toward the distal or free-end of the spear as opposed to the proximal or “tractor-facing” end of the spear. Here again, even when the spear is oriented horizontally, axial slippage toward or away from the tractor is common particularly when the work piece is moved.
In view of the shortcomings and limitations of the prior art there has existed a longstanding need for an mounting apparatus adapted for removable attachment to a hay spear or other similarly shaped elongated member wherein the apparatus serves as a secure and fixed mounting point for attachments. The subject apparatus fulfils these objectives and others as set forth in greater detail herein.